You Never Take Me Dancing
by HeatherWest
Summary: Mulder wants to give Scully a night out to relax. He gets more than he bargained for.


TITLE: You Never Take Me Dancing

AUTHORS: Heather and Strbck23

EMAIL ADDRESSES: Heatherwest80  and strbck23 

DISCLAIMER: Not ours. Wish they were.

SPOILER WARNINGS: Arcadia and small ones for FTF and Detour

RATING: T

SUMMARY: Mulder wants to give Scully a night out to relax. He gets more than he bargained for.

Strbck23 AUTHOR'S NOTE: in all of our work together, Heather and I both collaborate on the ideas. She writes like 95% of the story. I just add a couple conversations, if that. But I am just happy to be along for the ride when we're throwing around ideas, giving my thoughts on "what Mulder and Scully would do if…" Thanks for reading! Give Heather the feedback she deserves and I will stalk the feedback page. My story, still a WIP, is titled 'I'm Yours' and yes, that was a shameless promotion.

Heather AUTHOR NOTE: Strbck and I realize that the song 'Circus' was not out during the time of Arcadia, but it was the only song we could get to really work. Strbck is great to work with, we bounce really great ideas around and she keeps me focused. She always adds the extra flare that sometimes I am missing. Please leave us feedback.

We pulled away from the Falls at Arcadia in our rented minivan. Mulder was driving, as I stared out the window, as was our usual roles on cases. I was lost in my thoughts of the last few days and the bizarre nature of the case. Nothing should surprise me anymore, but this was a little odd, even for our standards.

"Scully? Earth to Scully!"

I realized Mulder was speaking to me. "Hmm?" I looked over at him.

"I hope you don't mind, but I booked us tickets to go home tomorrow afternoon."

I arched my brow at him. "Not today?"

"I have a little surprise. I took the liberty of getting us a motel room."

"Only one?" I asked a little perturbed.

"One for each of us," he explained quickly. He clenched his jaw slightly. I didn't want to sound mean, but I really just wanted to go home and put this whole situation behind me, by taking a nice warm bath.

"Mulder," I started, but he cut me off.

"Scully, wait. Look, we've been running a lot lately. I just wanted to give you a night off. A night we can both relax and enjoy."

I arched my brow at him again. Mulder's idea of fun and mine were worlds apart. But, he has gone through the trouble of at least trying to put a smile on my face, so I would humor him.

"So, what should I wear?"

"Something comfortable," he smiled.

We drove for another half hour in silence, until we pulled into the Ramada Inn parking lot. This definitely wasn't being charged to the Bureau. I looked over at him confused.

"Told you, I want to give you a night off."

"Mulder, you shouldn't have to pay for this."

"We could share a room," he said half-joking.

"Or you can sleep in the car," I came back at him with.

"Two rooms it is."

He got out of the car, and went into the office. He came back out a few minutes later, still looking like Rob Petrie. In a different life, he would make a great husband. But not this Fox Mulder. He is a great guy, but driven to be alone. Alone with me. I smiled as he opened the driver's door and looked at me.

"We good?" I asked him.

"Yeah, we're second floor, other side," he smirked.

We went up to our rooms. He told me to be ready to go around six, but he wouldn't tell me where we were going. Damn Mulder and his surprises. I went into my room, did some reading, took a shower and enjoyed the down time.

At precisely six o'clock, Mulder knocked on my door. I opened it with a smile. He had on his blue jeans that hugged his ass nicely. And his dark grey t-shirt that showed off enough of his upper body muscles to make me stare. Yes, I have to admit that I have some physical attraction to Mulder. His attitude and philosophies have grown on me recently, making him even more attractive.

"Where are we going?" I asked, picking up my jacket.

"Out," he smiled.

I rolled my eyes and followed him downstairs. We were back in the minivan we rented. He kept glancing over at me. He smiled when I finally looked back. "You going to feed me at least?"

He smirked, "of course I am."

After driving for a little bit, we pulled into the parking lot of Buffalo Wild Wings. I looked over at him, my brow arched, "here?"

He nodded, "just trust me."

We walked inside, his hand on my lower back, guiding me towards the door. We got a table by one of the big TVs. I sat down and he sat right next to me, instead of across from me like he usually did. I looked at him a little weird as I tried to put a little distance between us.

He just smiled at me. "Relax, Scully. I just want to enjoy the game with you. Have a few beers, some wings, maybe a few more beers and see where the night takes us."

"You trying to get me drunk?"

"No. Yes. Maybe a little," he smiled. "I just want to have a good time."

"Junk food, baseball and beer." I smiled as I put my hand on top of his. "I can enjoy this."

We exchanged smiles. Tonight would be fun; we are Fox and Dana tonight. No work and no worries. He ordered us a few beers and a few flavors of chicken wings. "I ordered mine hot, I don't know how much you can handle."

"Hotter than you think," I smirked. His constant innuendos sometimes got to me, but if I snapped back at him, he stopped.

"You like watching baseball?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Never really did."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, I thought maybe it was a waste of time."

"So, you don't want to be here?" he asked, offended.

"I didn't say that. Maybe I just never thought about it because I didn't have the right person to enjoy watching it with." He just stared at me for a few seconds, then looked down at the hand that was holding his beer. I put my hand back on his, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I think I can enjoy baseball with my best friend sitting next to me."

He looked back at me with that shy smile I loved. It was definitely an innocent boyish look that I rarely got the pleasure to see. I wished he would relax more often, but it wasn't in his realm of possibilities.

Our wings got to the table, just in time to break the awkward silence that was developing between us. We both started digging in. It's what we did. We buried ourselves in everything else instead of dealing with the feelings between us. It was easier that way.

He scooted closer to me, reaching across me to steal some of my wings. I did the same to him. I know he ordered them hot, but I wasn't about to back down to a little challenge. I dipped the wing into the blue cheese and took a big bite, the whole time he was staring at me. It was definitely hotter than I thought, but I swallowed it. My mouth was on fire. I gulped down my beer, but it wasn't helping. I could hear Mulder chuckling at me.

"Not funny," I panted.

"Only a little," he said, getting up. He came back with a glass of milk. I drank it down quickly; my mouth was grateful for the bit of relief. Mulder sat back down next to me, still looking at me. I looked over at him, trying not to give him a dirty look, but I couldn't help it.

I sighed, "thank you." I gave him a small smile, "I didn't think they were THAT hot."

"I warned you."

I just rolled my eyes at him but smiled again. We went back to eating our own wings and enjoying our beers. While watching the game, Mulder told me stories of how he played when he was younger. I liked hearing about these memories; they were the good ones he has from when he was a kid. Plus the thought of a young Fox Mulder in a baseball outfit was attractive to me. I leaned into him whenever I got the chance, pretending not to hear him. After a few beers he loosened up, brought his arm around my shoulders. Of course it was all in a friendly manner. I was working on getting a nice buzz while I was enjoying this time with him.

At first I thought Mulder wasn't even watching the game, he was invested in his bragging of when he used to play sports as a kid. He was engrossed in telling me about some big game and the score was tied or something; I had started to zone out. All of a sudden he yells, "That's how you do it!" His attention was on the television, then glancing over at me. "Did you see that?" I shook my head no. "The right fielder just managed to get him out. YES!" I looked at him confused. "Right fielder has to have a good arm to throw all the way in. I used to play right field. That's how I got a good arm."

I smiled, "THAT'S how you got a good arm? I figured it was from other physical activities."

He smirked, he knew I had him, but he had to have the last word. "Well, umm, I mean…I did do both. One helped the other I guess."

I just shook my head. "I thought you had to have the good arm in order to play that position," I looked at him accusingly. That was an image of Mulder I didn't want to think about, but I didn't want to let it go if it was going to even slightly embarrass him. He just looked at me, at a loss for words. I had won. I took a sip of my beer, with a smile on my face. I can definitely start liking baseball.

Right around the seventh inning of the game, a gentleman walked over to our table and asked if anyone was sitting across from us.

"No," Mulder told him, eyeing him up. Mulder wasn't the jealous type, but he was territorial. He wanted to make sure this man wasn't a threat to our situation.

"You mind if my girlfriend and I came over here. We can't see this game from way over there."

"Yeah, no problem," Mulder told him.

I just glanced over at him, a little upset that we weren't going to be alone anymore. He either read my mind or he could tell by the look on my face. He reached over and touched my arm. If I asked Mulder to leave right now, he would. But I was going to hold off on asking him that. A moment later, a pretty girl joined the gentleman, sitting down across from us.

"Sorry. My name is Mike, this is my girlfriend Shelly."

"I'm Fox, this is Dana."

We all exchanged handshakes. I looked at Mulder with a questioning look. Dana? Really? I could count the number of times he has called me that on one hand. He made me smile though, I liked hearing him say my name.

Shelly turned to me, "Mike loves coming here to watch baseball. I'm not as big of a fan as he is, but I love seeing him happy."

"I can relate," I smiled slightly at her. I hated trying to make small talk with strangers.

"It balances out," she continued. "He goes and does things with me that I enjoy more."

"Like?" I arched my brow at her. I still had a nice buzz going, and was feeling a little more amiable than usual.

She shrugged. "After this we are going to go to a karaoke bar.

"I've never done that. I guess I'm not that brave." I glanced over at Mulder. He was engrossed in a conversation with Mike. I heard names and stats being thrown around. I just rolled my eyes. It has to be a guy thing.

"Or drunk enough," she laughed. "It is a lotta fun, once you don't care what others think. You and Fox can come with us, after the game, if you would like."

I was just buzzed enough to entertain that idea. Shelly seemed really nice and spending any time with another woman sounded good to me right now. I loved working with Mulder, but I worked in a testosterone driven environment. I needed someone to relate to.

For the rest of the game Shelly and I chatted about where we were both from, where we currently lived, what we did for a living and other girl small talk. I found out her and Mike were together for three years and that they were hoping to get married one day soon. I diverted all questions she asked about Mulder and myself. I was very good at doing that, when I needed to. While talking I drank just enough to maintain my buzz. I was glad Mulder planned this night out. I know it wasn't going as he expected, but it was still fun to have time away from work.

We all walked out to the parking lot after the game. He had gotten a little breezy, I wrapped my jacket around me a little tighter. Mulder noticed, stepping closer to me, his arm around my shoulder again, trying to keep me warm.

I looked up at him, "we are going to join Shelly and Mike for some karaoke. I hope you don't mind."

"That's fine. It's your night off to enjoy."

We followed them to the bar. I looked over at Mulder to make sure he was okay to drive. He knew what I was thinking. "I'm fine. Not even a buzz. I stopped knowing I had to drive."

I smiled at him, "you seemed to hit it off with Mike."

"And you with Shelly."

I started giggling, "they are a cute couple. I think Shelly thinks we're a couple too."

He glanced over at me, his eyebrow arched. "You're almost drunk."

"So?" I giggled.

"I like it." I looked at him, neither of us could believe he just admitted that.

"I'm sure you do." I leaned over towards him and whispered, "if you want me drunk, get me some shots."

"Shots of what?"

"Anything."

"Will that make you sing?"

"Maybe," I shot him a flirty smile.

We went inside, and I found a seat with Shelly. Mulder came back to the table with a beer and a shot for each of us. I just looked at him. He must really want me drunk. He just gave me a knowing smile. He leaned into me, getting himself close to me so he could talk in my ear.

"Whatever you want after that, just let me know."  
I smiled, "_whatever_ I want?"

He just stared, his mouth hanging slightly open. He didn't know how to react to that comment. He let it slide. We sat back, watching other people sing. It was fun, but then again, who can't enjoy watching drunken people try to sing. Mulder seemed to be having a good time too.

Mike went up and sang _Been Waiting for a Girl Like You_. Mulder kept glancing over at me. I smiled at him; I knew what he was thinking. Just as mike was finishing, I stood up. I was drunk enough to take a turn up there. And I was going to make sure I got Mulder's attention. As I stood up, he put a hand on my arm. I looked back at him.

"You're singing?"

I giggled and nodded. He arched his brow in disbelief, but I just smiled. I leaned down and whispered in his ear, "pay attention." When I pulled back, his mouth was hanging open a little again.

I got up to sing, my eyes were on Mulder. I started singing, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog/Was a good friend of mine/I never understood a single word he said/But I helped him drink his wine." I looked over at Mulder and he was smiling. He knew why I picked this song. Then I got to the part "If I were the queen of the world/Tell you what I'd do/I'd throw away the cars and the bars and the war/Make sweet love to you." I made sure Mulder was looking at me and winked at him. I picked up on him blush ever so slightly. But that was only because I can read Mulder like an open book. I finished my song and sat back next to Mulder, smiling. I put my hand on his knee. He looked over at me, a little confused. I could tell he was a little buzzed, but not as bad as I was. "Relax a little, Mulder. Have some fun."

"I've just never seen you this..." He was searching for words.

"Drunk?" I giggled.

"Yeah."

I giggled again. "Order me another drink. I'm going to go use the ladies room."  
He nodded as I stood up. I put my hand on his shoulder as I walked past him. Shelly looked at me, standing up herself. She walked over to me.

"Ladies room?"

I nodded. She followed me. Normally I didn't understand why women went to the bathroom together. But I didn't care. While I was doing my business, she was fixing her makeup.  
"Fox is really cute," she commented.

"Yeah, I guess he is," trying to play it off, which was hard to do while drunk.  
"I was confused at first," she explained just as I was coming out of the stall. "I thought you two were a couple. But you're not."

"No, we are partners. And good friends."

"But there are feelings. I can see it from both of you." I nodded. "Turn up the teasing, honey. Get his attention. You two are cute together. Show him that you could rock his world."  
I nodded, fixing my hair. I knew what song I was doing next. I took a deep breath.

I headed back to Mulder. I took the beer out of Mulder's hand, taking a drink as I sat down. I was sitting close enough that our thighs were touching. He glanced over at me with a smile.

I leaned in, whispering in his ear, "you ready for my encore?" As I was leaning into him, my hand was on his thigh, using it for balance.

"Maybe you should relax for a little bit."

"You are going to like this one though," I was pouting.

"I can't stop you," he told me with a small smile. I got up, messed his hair a little and went back up to sing again. As I walked up there, I undid the top buttons of my blouse. I really wanted Mulder's attention right now.

Mulder was talking to Mike until the music started. His eyes quickly shifted their attention to me, making me smile. I'm glad I had liquid courage or I would have chickened out. I started singing, "There are two types of people in the world/The ones that entertain, and the ones that observe." As I said 'entertain,' I shot Mulder another wink. I walked over to him and continued, "Well baby, I'm a put-on-a-show kinda girl," I ran my hand down his chest. "Don't like the backseat, gotta be first," I touched his chin, making him lock eyes with me. I walked away from him a little, "I'm like the ringleader/I call the shots/I'm like a fire cracker/ I make it hot/When I put on a show," I sang, winking at him, making sure I leaned over, giving him a good view down my shirt. I sang rest of the song, teasing Mulder the whole time. I also had a lot of other guys staring at me, but as long as I had Mulder's attention, I was succeeding. By the end of the song, I was practically dancing on him, but he kept his composure.

Some of the rest of the night was a blur. I remember I kept drinking for a little while after that performance. I vaguely remember saying goodnight to Shelly and Mike. I also remember telling me that I should get enough courage to flirt with Mulder when I am sober. Mulder blushed again when he heard that. I just smiled, laughed, smacked Mulder's butt. I giggled and said something about Mulder wasn't going anywhere that I wasn't worried. I then stumbled into the minivan.

Mulder started the van. He was looking over at me, watching me struggle to get my seatbelt fastened. He had a smile on his face, amused by my attempts. "It's not working," I pouted, still struggling. I looked over at Mulder for help. "Could you please stick it in my hole?" He shifted in his seat; I made him a little uncomfortable. But he also couldn't stand watching me struggle, so he reached over and fastened my belt for me. I smiled widely. "That was fun."

"Tonight or the seatbelt?"

He smirked, so Mulder. "You're…so…Mulder." I laughed at myself.

"Why yes, I am. And you're Scully." He was laughing too.

"Hey! You just…stop laughing." I turned more towards him, rising up to tuck my left foot under my right leg, resting my arm on the console between us.

"Well, you're laughing," he said defensively.

"But you're laughing AT ME."

He smirked again, "lighten up, Scully. I'm laughing with you. Which was the whole point of this night. I got more than I bargained for, you're a little hell cat."

I smiled, "That was fun."

He laughed and shook his head, putting his hand behind my head to back out of the parking space. "You said that already."

I turned to look at him, and forgot my reply. His neck was craned as he was backing out, and my movement put my face dangerously close to his. He hit the brakes, as he was backed all the way out, and we both froze. "Whoa," I breathed. We both hadn't moved. The last time we were this close was last summer, in his hallway. I remembered his words, his eyes, his hands. I remembered his lips… "I can't feel my lips." It escaped before I could filter my thoughts.

Mulder smirked yet again and the tension was gone. He pulled his hand back to his side of the van, putting it in drive. "You, my little hell cat, need some food on your stomach."

"I'm not hungry. And I'm not *your* *little* *anything.*"

He nodded and looked both ways before pulling back out onto the main road. "Right…Sorry." His smile vanished.

I crossed my arms and stared at him a minute, knowing I was getting carried away. But I couldn't help anything at this point. I heard a couple notes come out of the radio and forgot what little guilt I might have felt at my remark. "I should have sung this." I turned the radio up a little louder than was necessary. He looked at me a little reluctantly, perhaps worried the hell cat would emerge again. I smiled and felt my eyes go a little droopy. I doubted I could be a hell kitten at this point. I hummed along to the first few lines of the song. I poked Mulder's thigh, wondering if he was listening. His nervous glance told me he was. We were stopped at a red light. "I love this song." I had just enough restraint not to ask Mulder if songs like this made his stomach flutter. Typically, this was way past the point where Dr. Scully, Special Agent would step in and take control. However, she was nowhere in the vicinity of California anymore. "They think we're lovers/kept under cover/I just ignore it, but they keep saying we laugh just a little too loud/ we stand just a little to close/we stare just a little too long…"

One of said stares happened, and my mouth went dry. Bonnie Raitt went on singing without me. "I feel so foolish, I never noticed/You'd act so nervous, could you be falling for me?" The tension was back, Mulder's jaw was clenched and his gaze was daring me to do something. I saw in his eyes the same questions I had deep inside, but never gave myself time or permission to ask. What were we waiting for? I typically told myself that he didn't want me, just to deter myself from thinking we could be happy together. Would we lose everything if we tried? Just then, a car whizzed past us in the next lane, the driver laying on his horn. How long had we been sitting at a green light? I had whipped my head around to look at the noise, and Mulder still hadn't started driving. I steeled myself, took a deep breath, getting ready to return to the intensity of his gaze. But just as I turned my head, Mulder cleared his throat and turned away. He drove through the intersection just as the light was turning yellow again. The song was over, and an obnoxious man was talking about selling furniture at crazy low prices. I turned down the radio as Mulder turned onto the Interstate feeder, our hotel was right up the road. My head was still spinning, and I was feeling nauseous. I didn't want to let the moment go forever. "Mulder…"

"We gotta get some food in you." He whipped into a Jack in the Box parking lot. I ordered a chicken fajita pita and Mulder got some tacos. We ate in silence in the hotel parking lot. I couldn't even finish half of it. When we got out of the car, I felt drunk again as soon as I stood up. He helped me to my room. We stood in my doorway for a moment. "Goodnight, Scully." He tried his best to give me a smile, and I appreciated it.

"Sorry I ruined the evening."

He looked genuinely surprised. "What are you talking about? This is the most fun I've had in a long time…Wow, maybe ever."

I smirked, "shut up, Mulder."

"I'm not kidding. You have some Advil, for in the morning?"

I nodded, my head was spinning. The plus side was, I saw two Mulders standing in front of me. Both of them seemed to be getting closer to me. I almost thought he was going to kiss me until I felt him guide me over to my bed, sitting me down as I almost fell over. The room was spinning faster. I had to force myself to focus on Mulder. I took his face in my hands, staring at him while I pouted.

With a frown, I told him, "I thought you were going to kiss me."

He stood upright, looking down at me. "Scully…" he started.

"You were going to, that day, last summer, in your hallway."

"Scully, this isn't the time to talk about this."

"Because you don't want me?"

"Because you are drunk."

I just looked at him. Did that mean he did want me? He had told me he loved me not too long ago. I dismissed his comment at the time. But maybe I was wrong about him not wanting me and the signs he gave me along the way.

He bent down and took my shoes off for me. He then scooted me up the bed, so my head was on the pillows. He pulled the blankets over me, knowing I get cold easily. I threw my arms around his neck, pulling him down to me. Our faces were only inches apart.

"Relax, Mulder. I don't bite…hard. Unless you want me to of course."

"Scully, stop," he persisted. He gently pulled my arms from around him.

"You can make comments, but I can't?"

"You have done enough teasing for one night. I don't know how much more I can take," he told me quietly.

"Did drunk Dana get little Fox's attention?" He just stared at me. "Or does sober Scully get you going too?" He blushed ever so slightly, but didn't say a word. I just smiled at him. My eyes were slipping shut, but I was smiling. "And you like me teasing you," I told him all cocky.

"Never said I didn't," he admitted. He kissed my forehead, "goodnight again, hellcat."

He walked towards the door, but I called him before he got out. "Mulder?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you too."

"I know you do."

I heard the door click shut.

I woke up the next morning with a pounding headache; it was bad enough that I couldn't even open my eyes. That was until I felt someone in the bed next to me. I opened my eyes and saw Mulder next to me, causing me to jump out of bed. I was wearing ONLY Mulder's t-shirt.

"Mulder!" He opened his eyes and looked at me. "What are you doing in here?" I practically yelled at him in a very accusing tone.

"This is my room. Don't you remember?" he asked, sitting up with a somewhat cocky smile.

"No," I glared at him.

"Oh," he said with a disappointed look on his face.

"Mulder? Did we? Did you?"

I was going to be sick. I bolted for the bathroom, shutting the door behind me as I did. I was in there, getting sick for a few minutes before he finally knocked on the door to see if I was okay. I told him to go away.

When I finally came out, he was sitting at the end of the bed, wearing pajama pants and no shirt. "You swore you were going to remember, Scully. I'm really sorry."

I looked around the room. My clothes were spread out all over the floor, starting at the door. I looked down, not knowing how I got into Mulder's room, or how I wound up only in his t-shirt. My face just turned red and my headache got impossibly worse. I was never a really big drinker, and this was probably why. I had no recollection of anything after Mulder leaving my room last night.

"Mulder, we did?" I asked, mad, confused and frustrated.

"I opened my door after you started knocking. You came in, stripping all your clothes off. You threw yourself at me, insisted I come to bed with you. And you insisted that you would remember everything this morning. What was I to do?" His face told me he was being completely serious.

The tears welled up in my eyes, I was trying to fight them, but I was failing. "We….did it?"

He started laughing. "Of course not." He stood up, walked over to me and put his hands on my shoulders. I put my hand over my face. "I had you big time though."

"So….nothing happened?"

He smirked. "I brought you back to your room. I came in here, and a few minutes later you were banging on my door, begging to let you in. You were rambling about a monster in your bed, and that my room was the only safe one. You started stripping off your clothes as soon as I let you in, telling me that they smelled of the landfill from the monster or something, you weren't making sense. Even though I was enjoying the show, I didn't think it was appropriate to leave you naked, so I convinced you to put one of my shirts on. You got into my bed. I told you I would go take your room, but you fought with me because you didn't want the monster to get me. I looked at him through my fingers, like a child watching a horror movie. "My intention was to go to your room after you fell asleep, but I must have fallen asleep myself."

"So, nothing happened?"

"Do you think I would let a drunken Scully have her way with me?"

I shook my head. I should have known, Mulder is always the gentleman with me. Even after everything I did to him last night, he still respected me.

"Did I TRY anything?" He stared up at the ceiling, pretending not to hear my question. "Mulder, I'm sorry. Really. I need to never drink like that again."

"It was easy to resist." I arched my brow at him, a little insulted. "I care too much about you and our friendship." He kissed my forehead. "You will make up to me one day, when the time is right."

I smiled and gave him a hug. I felt like hell and it was going to be a long flight home. I retreated back to my room, falling asleep for a few hours before I had to get ready to go. Hopefully one day I will remember the details of that night. He deserved more than to just be teased. But we never talked about that night again. That was what we did. We avoided. I was fine with that. Mulder was my friend and I loved him.


End file.
